choral

Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

adj. Of or relating to a chorus or choir.

adj. Performed or written for performance by a chorus.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

adj. of, relating to, written for, or performed by a choir or a chorus

n. variant spelling of chorale

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English

adj. Of or pertaining to a choir or chorus; singing, sung, or adapted to be sung, in chorus or harmony.

n. A stately hymn tune; a simple sacred tune, sung in unison by the congregation, used mostly in Protestant (especially Lutheran) churches.

from The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

Pertaining to or characteristic of a chorus or a choir; performed in rhythmic concert, as music or dancing.

In music, specifically, pertaining to or designed for concerted vocal, as distinguished from instrumental, performance: as, Mendelssohn's choral works.

n. A simple musical composition in harmony, suited for performance by a chorus. Often written chorale.—

n. A tune written or arranged for a sacred hymn or psalm; specifically, such a tune written in the style of the hymn-tunes of the early Protestant churches, both Lutheran and Reformed, having a plain melody, a strong harmony, and a stately rhythm.

n. In the Roman Catholic Church, any part of the service which is sung by the whole choir (cantus choralis), generally consisting of a part of the ancient church music (cantus firmus), sung in unison, or more frequently sung by the tenor, while a greater freedom is allowed in the parts.

While this entry lends more supporting evidence that the practice at the time was having men sing all choral parts save, occasionally, the top (dessus) line in choral music from the period, Rousseau rocks because he asks, WTF?

Next, send them out on to the ice floes of the frozen Baltic and get them to shout - in choral unison - at a stranded 10,000-ton ice breaking vessel, and you have got something called Mieskuoro Huutaja (Men's Choir Shouters) ... a new art form, and it is taking parts of the world by arctic storm.

As a long term choral singer I've been subjected to many whims of Latin pronunciation, including one director who insisted at all times on "authentic" pronunciation but had a very dodgy grasp of what that might have entailed.

The Renaissance Singers, Seattle's own masters of ancient polyphony, will add a new slant to their name for their holiday concert this year by focusing on the most recent renaissance in English choral music: the early 20th century.